Connecticut School Board Vice Chair Defends July 3 Holocaust Post as 250th Anniversary Backlash Grows
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 21
Connecticut School Board Vice Chair Defends July 3 Holocaust Post as 250th Anniversary Backlash Grows
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 21
Summary
LaToya Yagaloff, vice chair of West Hartford’s Board of Education, said she stands by the “heart” of her July 3 post after it went viral for asking whether people would “celebrate the historic beginning of the Holocaust.”
Yagaloff said her point was that slavery remained legal in 1776, so Independence Day can also evoke grief for Black Americans; she said she did not intend to equate America’s founding with the Holocaust.
The dispute escalated after Libs of TikTok reposted the screenshot and the West Hartford GOP on July 16 accused the Democratic board vice chair of comparing the nation’s 250th anniversary to genocide.
West Hartford Democrats backed Yagaloff, while she said the backlash triggered racist and misogynistic harassment, including messages using the N-word and other slurs.
The controversy has turned a local school board official into a flashpoint in the broader fight over how the U.S. should mark its 250th anniversary while confronting slavery’s legacy.